One End of the Stick
by Frootkake Productions
Summary: THIS IS FINALLY FINISHED!!! Here goes: Mostly centered around Travis, deals with some background stuff that the show didn't really go into...He has been framed for murder, and the L9 crew must figure out if he's really guilty...PLEEEASE R&R!
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer : I do not own Level 9, or it's characters, with the exception of Teigra, Steve, Max, and Loon. I hope the plot is original and interesting enough that you read to the end. Otherwise I will be distraught.**

**I may still change some things, so tell me if you think I missed something, or if this downright sucks. I appreciate the input. No, I meant that.**

**One End of the Stick**

**By: Bonnie Seidel**

  


Roland Travis opened his eyes slowly. The world around him was hazy, but he could make out small details. Like that Jack Wiley was standing next to him. "Where am I?" Travis tried to sit up, and found that his hands were cuffed behind his back.

"Cops found you unconscious in the middle of the road, Travis." Annie Price said coldly. "Any idea how you got there?"

Travis furrowed his eyebrows. "Naw, it's a blank."

"Do you remember _anything_ from last night?" Wiley asked less harshly than Price.

"I..." he had to think about that. "I was with Jargon, and I bailed on him to chase...something." he realized what he was saying, and tried to cover it up. Chasing Marvin Bates was the only thing he could remember just then, but Price and the others did not need to know this.

"That was three o'clock in the afternoon, Trav." Wilbert Thibideaux replied in his soft voice.

"What do you remember after that?" Price demanded. Travis squirmed, trying to crack his shoulder blades. "Well?"

"There's nothin' after that. Can you take these off, please?"

Price folded her arms across her chest. "You're under arrest, Travis, they stay on."

"Under arrest? For what? Being unconscious in the middle of the road? That's highly unfair. It's not like I was drunk. Someone musta clobbered me."

"Do you actually remember someone clobbering you?" Wiley questioned hopefully.

"Wha - no," Travis shook his head slowly, his frustration showing on his face.

"You weren't drunk, Travis, but your bloodstream was just crawling with illicit substances." Price relished the fact that he was going to get thrown back in jail.

"What?" he demanded. "That's not possible! I didn't - I wouldn't do that! It violates my parole!" he was struggling harder against the hand cuffs.

Wiley put his hand on the young man's shoulder. "Calm down, Trav. Just try to remember."

"I can't remember! It's gone! Big blank! Please, you have to believe me!" Price was already outside the holding cell. "Oh, no. No! Don't do this, Price!" Wiley remained at Travis' side, and he turned his pleading gaze on him. "Jack - "

"Wiley," Price cut in sternly. "Coming?"

"We'll figure this out." Wiley told Travis reassuringly.

He watched the three of them disappear down the hall.

  


"What are you thinking, Annie?" Tibbs asked her, as they made their way out to the car.

She replied, "I think he's lying."

"He is _not_ lying, Annie. He's scared out of his wits." Wiley interjected. "You've gotta be able to see that. Prison is the last place on Earth that boy wants to return to."

Tibbs watched Annie's expression, but it did not change. "He's hiding something, and if he doesn't want to share, then playtime's over." she replied evenly.

"Don't you think you're being a little harsh?" Tibbs put in. "Travis isn't the bad guy, here."

Price stopped and turned on him. Before she said anything, she reminded herself that neither Tibbs nor Wiley had heard about the previous night's homicide. Not yet wanting to touch on the subject with them, she covered with, "The boy used to work for CrayZhorse, Tibbs. Travis is helping him out with something, he must be. _That_ makes him the 'bad guy'."

"There's no arguing with you." Wiley rolled his eyes. "I am woman, hear me hiss and growl and order people around."

"Don't start with me, Wiley."

"Heaven forbid." he muttered.

  


"I feel really bad, Sosh." Jargon leaned back in his chair in front of the computer. "Like this is my fault."

"It's not your fault, Jargon." she tried to console her best friend. "We'll figure this out."

"I shouldn't have let Travis go off alone."

"You didn't know that - " she paused, searching for the right word, "_Something_ would happen to him."

Jargon looked over at Sosh. "That's the thing, isn't it? Maybe he _did_ go out and get stoned."

Sosh shook her head. "Travis valued his freedom too much to screw himself over like that."

"Are you sure? I mean, he hasn't exactly been acting like himself lately."

"You don't know him well enough to make that call, Jargon."

"Fine, fine. You're right."

"Of course I am." she grinned. "So, where should we start looking for stuff to help him?"

"How about surveillance cameras in the area we last heard from him?" Hooten suggested, jogging up the stairs to their niche.

"Sounds good." Sosh agreed. "Just give me a grid."

  


***

  


Teigra Paulson placed the two drinks beside the two young men according to their orders. Not that they had placed orders; they were regular attendees at this particular nightclub. The pair, Max Owens and Jarvis "Loon" Perry were laughing about a recent occurrence, but Teigra had not yet picked up the details.

She had, however, turned on the tape recorder securely fastened under the bar.

Max gulped down his beverage, then turned glassy eyes on the young woman across the counter. "So, Tig, whatcha doin' later?"

"Nothing with you, Max. _Nothing_ with _you_."

"That's too bad. I feel like celebratin'." he grinned at Loon.

They started laughing again.

Loon managed between outbursts, "Too bad Roller ain't here, eh Tig?"

She stopped scrubbing the shot glass in her hand, and looked up at him curiously. Roller was the universal nickname for Roland Travis among the Great Uprising, a terrorist group under CrayZhorse that she still belonged to. Travis was also her ex-boyfriend - though she had never convinced herself that it was over between them. After he had been arrested for the transference of two million dollars into his personal account, Travis had stressed that she not mope around waiting for him to be released. His sentence, afterall, had been ten years in prison. Teigra had nodded, unable to form coherent thoughts as they took him away, but she still believed that they would get back together.

Though not anytime soon. . .

Now, hearing Loon mention his name like that, she was worried. "What did you guys do?" she asked innocently, knowing that they were drunk and would tell her anything, especially Loon. He had a reputation for that sort of thing, and she had had personal experience in the past. No, Loon was not one to trust with a secret.

"Well, you see, Tig, we sorta just framed him." Max replied nonchalantly.

"For what?"

"Murder," and Loon burst into hysterics.

"I'm tellin' ya, Tig," Max jumped in, "He didn't even see it comin'. I just whammed him in the back of the head, and he was out like a...candle."

"After you blow it out, that is." Loon clarified.

"Shut up, Loon." Max snapped, slapping his counterpart in the shoulder.

"Ow!"

"So, anyway, then we drag 'im back to HQ, hooked him up to this _thingy _andleft him with the Horse."

"Why?" Teigra asked. "What did he want with Travis?"

"A date." Loon cackled.

Max joined in the laughter. When he got control again, he replied, "Are you kidding? He's the one with all the Level Nine know-how. And the Horse wants to get that thorn out of his side, Tig. Permanently."

Loon laughed harder. "He was a pretty doped up thorn when we left him in the street."

Max laughed at this, too. "That he was."

Teigra tried not to look concerned, as she placed another set of drinks on the counter.

  


***

  


Travis took the phone from the guard as he sat down. It had been nearly twelve hours since his arrest, and he was restless. Jargon was waiting on the other side of the glass shield. He looked nervous, as he said, "Hey, Trav,"

"Hey," They sat staring at each other in silence. "Look, you only get ten minutes." Travis reminded him.

"Yeah, um, look, I'm sorry I let you get yourself into this."

Travis went with full-on sarcasm. "I'm sorry too, Buddy. Maybe you can tell me what the hell I got myself into, hmm?"

Jargon sighed heavily. "Me 'n Sosh are workin' on figurin' out what happened the other night."

"Good luck. Apparently, I was out getting high."

"All of us know that's not true. Someone's setting you up, and we're going to figure out who."

"Price doesn't. She's been out to get me from the start." he muttered. A young woman walked by behind Jargon, and something flickered in his mind. He stood up, trying to see farther down the hall, but he could not. A guard came over and forced him to sit down.

"What is it, Trav?"

"I-I thought I recognized someone."

Jargon stood up, and looked down the hall. There were so many people down there that he would never be able to pinpoint one person. "I can look at the video surveillance when I get back. Just gimme a description."

"No, no, it was nothing." he shook his head. "So, Pinky, what have you and the Brain come up with so far?"

"Well," Jargon sputtered for a moment. "Nothing yet."

Travis looked disappointed. "Oh."

"But we'll find something. Soon." Jargon hoped he sounded reassuring. Travis nodded, feeling like a leaf in Autumn, waiting to be blown off its branch. "Anything you can tell me would be helpful. Price won't hear any of it - not from me or Sosh - I promise."

Travis considered telling Jargon about Marvin Bates, but he decided that he could not trust him with that information yet. "I think..." he absently rubbed the place on his inner elbow where he had located the tiny needle prick. "I think they gave me some form of tranquilizer, something with dalmane in it, 'cause I've got hives on my arm around where the needle went in, and I'm allergic to that stuff."

"Well, did the hives just start showing up since you've been in here? Because they could be from anything - "

"I - I guess I can't be sure, seeing as I was unconscious for several hours, but I did notice them earlier when Price, Tibbs and Wiley were here."

"Maybe you're just having a reaction to _her_." Jargon half-smiled.

"Yeah, right," Travis chuckled.

The guard returned, and said gruffly, "Time's up."

"Well, thanks for coming by, Jargon. I'll see ya."

"Don't be like that, Travis. Things'll work out."

"Yeah, right." he muttered on his way back to his cell.

  


***

  


Price dropped a folder on the desk in front of Sosh. "These are the pictures of the body." she paced, as she always did when giving out assignments.

Sosh ran her finger along the edge of the folder, not wanting to look inside. "Body? What body?"

"Marvin Bates, a former employee of our dear friend CrayZhorse. I want to know everything about him." Price leaned over the side of the desk, her expression deadly serious. "And you can't tell Jargon any of it."

Sosh was taken aback by this last statement. "Why not?"

Price straightened up again. "Because, Sosh, he'd tell Travis, and we don't want that."

"We don't? Why not? Why can't - "

"Listen to me, Sosh. This is a side assignment, you have to keep it to yourself, that's all there is to it. No one but us knows about this."

"Why is it so important to you?"

"Look, you are on this, that's all there is to it. Get to work."

Sosh picked up the folder reluctantly, then left the room. Price scratched her forehead absently, wondering how long the girl could keep a secret.

  


Sosh sat down at her computer, holding the folder uncertainly. She was not sure she wanted to see pictures of a recently murdered victim. She gathered her nerve, and flipped it open, squeezing her eyes shut. 

Slowly, she opened one eye at a time, until she was wincing down at a blood-soaked sidewalk.

Sosh quickly closed the folder again. Biting her nails nervously, she flicked on the monitor, and went to her favourite search engine. She typed in 'Marvin Bates', then waited as the electronic sifter worked its digital magic.

Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed movement. She quickly switched off the monitor, so that the newcomer would not see what she was up to.

The newcomer was Jargon. "Hey, Sosh."

"Hey," He sat at his computer, then sat there with his head in his hands. "How is he?"

"Huh?"

"Travis. Is he okay?"

Jargon shrugged. "He's a little more bitter than usual, but he seems okay."

"Did he tell you anything helpful?"

"Not really. Just that he has hives on his arm, and he thinks it's from being given dalmane."

"He's allergic?"

"Apparently,"

"You don't believe him?"

"Well, hives aren't something you can see through a glass shield, y'know?"

"Yeah, I get it. Well, we should find out what sorts of things have dalmane in them and then what combinations of those things can knock a person out for a few hours."

"That's what I was thinking," Jargon agreed, "But Travis worked for CrayZhorse for a pretty long while, right?" 

Sosh shrugged uncertainly. She really had no idea how long Travis had worked for the notorious hacker. For all she knew, he'd gotten caught on his first day, though she doubted that.

"Well, it just seems to me that someone like CrayZhorse would _not_ do something so stupid and obvious as give Travis something he's allergic to. He'd know about it, wouldn't he?"

"Maybe he didn't. _Maybe _CrayZhorse was hoping the reaction to the drugs afterward would _kill_ Travis."

"Yeah, or maybe there's something else going on, like CrayZhorse _wants_ us to find him, or whoever did this. I mean, the other thing is that it may not have even had anything to do with him. Travis could have millions of enemies just from working for CrayZhorse that he doesn't even know about."

Sosh leaned back in her chair. "This just keeps getting more and more complicated."

  


Teigra sat in front of a computer, as she did everyday and when she was not working at the nightclub. Roland Travis' criminal record was on her screen, her green eyes locked with his angry brown ones.

"Starin' at it ain't gonna make it go away." Steve Kasper, Teigra's African American friend and co-worker stated from behind her. "He's a bank robber me Dear, plain and simple."

"No, he's not," she sighed, swiveling her chair around to face Steve. "But I can't prove it."

"You gotta jis let it slide, Sweetie. Bein' all hung up o'er it ain't helpin' no one."

"Thank you, oh Intelligent One. I had forgotten that nothing gets done by staring at it."

"Well, then s'a good thing I reminded you. So, what's on the sched t'day?"

"I don't have a sched for today. Not yet."

"Then have I got the assignment for _you_."

"Oh, God. This can't be good."

"Ouch! Seriously, though, CrayZhorse wants into the water softener salt shipping orders for Clenzer, Inc."

"What? Why?"

"I dunno, I'm jis the messenger."

"Water softener salt," Teigra shook her head. "What will he come up with next?"

  


***

  


"Ummm...Sosh?"

"Yes Jargon, Dear?"

"What's all this?"

She moved her chair over beside him. "Ummm...an encryption?"

"I can see that. Why won't it let me in?"

"'Cause you need to crack it first?" He fixed her with an 'I know that' look. "Want me to try?"

"Please do."

Sosh tapped away at the keyboard. "What am I cracking, if I may be so bold?"

"I'm not sure. An old file on Travis, anyway."

"And it's encrypted because...?" she let her voice trail off inquisitively.

"I'll tell ya when I see what's in it."

"Sounds good,"

The scattered letters on the screen gradually shifted, and lined up, revealing a readable document.

"Thank you, Sosh, you're my hero."

"Aw, is that all?" she pouted.

"Very funny. Now let's see..." Jargon skimmed the text for anything useful. He scrolled down the page, nothing yet catching his eye.

"Whoa, wait. Who's that?" Sosh pointed to the picture onscreen. It was of Travis, and a young woman about his age holding his hand.

"I haven't a clue." Jargon shrugged.

"His girlfriend, maybe?"

"Knowing Travis, she could just be some chick he picked up at a club. He's like that, right?"

"No, I think there's something between them. Really something. I mean, look at the way he's looking at her." Jargon fixed her with a raised eyebrow. "What?"

"Nothing,"

"Hey, I'm just trying to help Travis, okay? Maybe this girl knows something." she pointed out the Great Uprising tattoo on her ankle.

"The mark of the CrayZhorse." Jargon nodded.

"Her name's Teigra Paulson." Wiley piped in. The two turned in surprise upon hearing his voice. "I've been trying to find her myself."

"Why?"

"Same reason you just said: Maybe she knows something."

"I dunno, you guys. This pic's like four years old." Jargon said, pointing out the date at the bottom of the page.

"Hey, you know as well as I do that Travis keeps his company when they're _that_ good-looking." Wiley smirked.

"I have a feeling he wouldn't appreciate you saying that, Jack." Sosh shook her head, suddenly feeling very alone.

"Nah, he'd give me one of those goofy grins and nod."

"Yes, he certainly would do that." Jargon agreed.

"Whatever, you two. Can you be serious about this? How can we find this girl?"

"That's a _very_ good question." Wiley smirked.

Sosh groaned, rolling her eyes. "Do I really have to put up with you? Come on, our teammate is in jail, here. Get serious."

"Right, right. Serious. Okay." Wiley looked from Sosh to Jargon and back again. "Find her." and he left.

  


***

  


She fidgeted nervously, waiting for Travis to arrive. She wished there was another way for them to meet, but considering he was being sent to prison in three days, there were no other options. The guard gestured for Travis to sit, but he was too surprised by who he saw.

"Hey, Gopher,"

"T-Teigra? Wh-what are you doing here?" he demanded, still not sitting down.

"I came to help you."

He examined her expression, trying to figure out if she was telling the truth. "How?"

Teigra took a deep breath. "I know what happened to you."

"Oh, really?" he was still skeptical. Her stoic front did not waiver. "Did you know that they were going to set me up for bank robbery, too? Why didn't you help me then?"

Now she had her back up. "Don't you think that if I'd known about that I would've given you the heads up?"

"I don't know, would you?" he returned.

"Gopher - "

"Don't call me that. You don't get to call me that anymore." snapped Travis.

She glared at him through the glass. "Roland - "

"You don't get to call me that, either."

She stifled a laugh. She knew perfectly well how much he disliked being called by his first name. "No one does,"

"Time's a goin', Teigra."

She sighed, gazing into his dark brown eyes. She had gotten lost in those eyes more times than she could remember. "They hacked your brain that night."

"That's impossible." he scoffed.

"Is it? Why else can't you remember? CrayZhorse had Max and Loon corner you in an alley, and they took you back to HQ for splicing."

"Why would he do that? He got me thrown in jail to get rid of me."

"Info, Goph. The Horse wants to know about Level Nine, and you were his best bet. He could get what he wanted, and have the satisfaction of locking you up all over again."

"You expect me to believe that?" he scoffed. "That's a waste of his time."

"Oh come on, G - " she caught herself before she said it, and his eyes met hers again, anger in them. "He's been out to get you for the past three years. And he'll do anything to do it, too."

"I know this already, Tig. Do you have any real info, or what?"

She leaned back in the uncomfortable chair. "I have all the info, but I can't tell you here. This is too open."

"How else are you s'posed to - "

She cut him off, "How can I get in touch with one of your Level Nine friends?"

"Who?" he mockingly pretended not to know what she was talking about. Although, he did not consider anyone in Level Nine a 'friend'.

"Come on, this is the only way it'll work out for you. There's nothing you can do from in here. You need someone on the outside. Surely you weren't a bitch to _all_ your co-workers?"

"Oh, thank you for that, Tig. I needed a kick in the teeth just then."

The guard was coming over to take Travis back to his cell.

"You don't have time to argue with me, Gopher. Who can I talk to on your side of the fence?"

He looked her straight in the eye, and sensed that she really did want to help him. "567-2332. Ask for Jargon."

"Time's up." the guard announced, resting a hand on Travis' shoulder. He got up slowly, reluctant to leave, despite his hostile attitude toward his visitor.

"Gopher," He turned back to her. "Don't give up. We'll straighten this out."

"Yeah, so everyone keeps telling me."

"Well, you know _I _mean it."

Travis sighed, "I hope someone does."

  



	2. Chapter 2

"Sosh?" Jargon turned his chair to face her.

"Yup?" she rested her chin in her hand, and waited for him to continue.

"Do you think that keeping Price in the dark on this Paulson-chick thing is really a good idea? She _is _our boss."

"Jargon, Price wants to lock Travis up and throw away the key. We may be the only ones standing in her way."

"And Wiley."

"Yeah, and Wiley. There's something fishy going on here, I can smell it."

"But it's Travis' ship. Maybe we should let him go down with it?"

"Since when are you so full of doubts? You're the one who went to visit him because you felt guilty about him getting arrested. What did you find to change your mind?"

"I - just reading this document from when he was with CrayZhorse. Maybe Annie's right about him. He did a lot of illegal stuff when he was in the Uprising."

"Look, one thing about Annie is that there's only black and white, no grey. Level Nine is the white, CrayZhorse is the black. She acquaints Travis with the black. That's all there is to it, Jargon. She can't see the grey."

"You're saying Travis is grey?"

"A very light grey, almost white."

"So, you don't trust him either."

"I barely know him, Jargon. Look, what do you want me to say? That we're doing the right thing? _We are doing the right thing, Jargon. _How's that?"

"Better, I guess," he sighed, eyeing his computer monitor. "What if she finds out?"

"Then we tell her off. Travis is a member of our team, and we owe it to him to get him out scott-free."

Jargon raised his eyebrows at Sosh. "I had no idea you had this conviction. Towards anything."

"Yeah, well, Price pisses me off."

He chuckled. "I think she pisses everyone off. She should work on that."

  


***

  


Teigra had walked from the police station to the mall several blocks away. She picked up the payphone receiver, holding her quarter just shy of the coin slot. Was she ready for this? What if this Jargon decided to turn her in to the police, instead of help her free Travis? She hung up again.

"Are you goin' ta use that, or are ya jis goin' ta stand there arguin' with yerself?" a male voice grumbled behind her.

She recognized the voice, and turned toward the source. "I think I'll argue with myself a little longer, thank you."

"Damn, woman, other people gots ta make important calls, too, y'know."

She smiled at him. "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, y'know, jis," he glanced around them, "Shoppin'."

"Uh-huh, shopping, right." she nodded sarcastically. "I'll bet."

"Yeah, well, I've been followin' _you_ since Seven Eleven. You're off yer game, Girlfriend." Steve followed her over to a bench, and sat down beside her.

"Did you notice anyone else following me?"

"Nope. Jis me."

"Well," Teigra sighed, "That's a relief."

"He's gonna find out, Tig. We always knew that."

"Find out what? That I don't want Gopher to spend the rest of his life in prison? He _already_ knows that. In fact, he's known that for years."

"Yeah, well, that's not what he killed Marvin over."

"I don't even know..." her sentence trailed off, as she was unable to finish it.

Steve put his arm around her shoulders comfortingly. "Travis didn't do it, Tig. You can't believe for a second that he did."

"I don't." she shook her head. At least Steve had not yet found the tape. "I don't, at all. It's just that seeing him today..."

"Brought back memories, I get that."

"Yeah. Bad ones." she shook her head. "Dammit, Steve, I've been through this once before. And look how that turned out."

"There was nothin' you could have done then."

_Wasn't there? _"I know," she sighed.

"There wasn't. It was the perfect set-up the first time."

"What if this is, too, but not for Gopher?"

"For who then, Tig?"

"Us,"

Steve shook his head. "You think too much."

"I hope you're right."

"Of course I am." he smiled broadly.

They departed the mall, en route to the night club where they both worked.

Upon arrival, Teigra disappeared into the basement to make a phone call. Ensuring that the call could not be traced or tapped, she dialed the number Travis had given her.

A male voice came on the line. "Hello?"

"Is this Jargon?"

"That depends on who's asking. Who's asking?"

"I'm a friend of Travis's. You could say I'm his get out of jail free card."

He seemed to consider this for a few moments, before returning, "How do I know you're telling the truth?"

"How do you think I got your number if it wasn't from him?"

"What's your relationship with him?"

"That doesn't matter. And quit stalling, you won't get a trace."

"I'm not tracing - "

"Oh, please. You government spooks are all the same. Even the rookies."

"I'm not a rookie."

"No, of course not. Rookies don't get into Level Nine."

"How do you know about - "

"I told you, I know Travis. And I have information that can help him, but I can't do this alone. I need _your_ help, Jargon."

  


Jargon glanced sidelong at Sosh, but she was not paying attention to anything other than her computer. "What do you need me to do?"

"I need anything you have about Marvin Bates' murder."

"I'll see what I can do." he hung up his cellular telephone, then set it down beside his monitor.

Sosh did not take her eyes from the screen before her, but asked, "Who was that?"

"Some girl claiming to be a friend of Travis's."

"Oh? Her name isn't Tonya, is it? Codename: Thrillseeker."

"Actually, she wouldn't say."

"Well, I'd say that's a little suspicious, wouldn't you? Unless she's Paulson." she cast him a sidelong glance. 

"I guess it could have been."

"Do you believe her? That she wants to help Travis, I mean."

"I don't know. She sounded sincere, and she did get my cell number."

"She could have gotten that anywhere."

"This one's not listed, Sosh. He would have _had_ to tell her."

"Hmmm. What did she want?"

"Information about a murder."

"A murder?" she tried not to look guilty. "Whose?"

"Uh, Marvin Bates." Jargon shrugged. "I've never heard of the guy. Have you?"

"Oh, no, me neither." she shook her head, turning back to her computer, and trying not to seem conspicuous.

"Oh well, I'll see what I can find." he sighed, wondering why she looked so guilty.

"Let me know if I can help." she replied to ease his doubts.

"Always do,"

  


***

  


Travis sat facing the TV screen, a faint sense of hope flickering in the back of his mind. Wiley smiled at him reassuringly, making him aware of the knot in his stomach. Travis did not know what this was about. It could be him caught on tape taking the drugs he had apparently injected, for all he knew.

The knot grew, and he shifted uncomfortably in the silence. _More silence._

The television came to life, a tape from the prison's surveillance cameras. The view zoomed in on a young woman : Teigra. She was walking by in the background.

Travis remembered this day. He had been talking to Jargon about what had happened the night of his arrest.

"Who is she?" Price's voice commanded a response.

"I don't know." he scoffed. He was not about to give up his one real chance at getting out of this mess. "Some chick visiting her eighty year old lover in prison?"

"You're not in prison, yet." Tibbs stated. Wiley was chuckling.

Price was angry. "Who is she, Travis?" she tried again, knowing that he was lying.

He continued his charade. "I don't know, _Price._" he echoed her same tone mockingly.

"Okay." The image changed. This time Travis was shown talking to her through the glass. 

He knew he was screwed.

"We can't help you if you won't help yourself." Tibbs said quietly, evenly. He did not want to upset the young man.

"I am perfectly happy to have you locked away for the rest of your life." Price added.

Travis stared, forlorn, at the image projected on the screen.

Wiley decided to try to persuade him. "Come on, Trav. All she wants is the girl's name."

She. Price. All Price wanted was the girl's name. Wiley, at least, was on his side. Travis shook his head at him. "She has nothing to do with what happened to me."

"We'll be the judge of that." Tibbs replied. "After we talk to her. She may be lying to you."

Travis' manner turned defensive. "You don't think I've thought of that?"

"Easy, Trav." Wiley put his hand on the young man's shoulder. "It's like Tibbs said, we just wanna help."

"You want to help me, you stay away from her." he told Wiley.

"Why, Travis? What does she know?" Price questioned.

"Just back off it, alright? If CrayZhorse finds Level Nine snoopin' around her, he'll take her out."

"Take her out?"

"He'll kill her, Annie." Wiley clarified, using a tone that said she should have been able to deduce that herself.

Price stared Travis down. He averted his eyes, not wanting to take in her coldness. "Just leave her alone."

"She's our only lead right now, Trav." Tibbs informed him.

"She's a dead end." Travis snapped. "She won't talk to you. She doesn't want to get involved with you. It would draw attention to herself."

"Give us her name."

Travis met the coldness head on. "No."

  


"Oh, my God," Teigra breathed.

"What?"

She and Steve were at Great Uprising headquarters, working on their respective projects.

Well, Steve was, at least. "I've got it. I decrypted it...It's all here..." she was talking to herself, disbelief evident in her voice.

"You are not alone." Steve wiggled his fingers at her, speaking hypnotically. "Share your discovery witchyo friends, hey?"

Teigra switched off her monitor. "I don't want you to get swept into this, Stevie. You're in far enough, but you don't know enough to get killed over it."

"Oh, man. That's the disk - I mean _the _disk? The one - "

"The one that CrayZhorse thought Marv had, yeah." she nodded. "Now drop it before he overhears something."

"You have to get rid of that thing." Steve urged, trying to take the disk out of the drive.

She swatted his hand away. "This may be G - Travis' only chance to - "

"This could getcha killed, Tig. And I know Roller don't want that."

"Yeah, well, you leave what Roller wants up to me, okay?" she turned her chair back, flipped on the screen, closed the file, then ejected the disk. She put it in her purse as she got up.

"I can't letcha do this, Tig." Steve stood blocking her escape.

"Why? Because the Horse added you to his elite payroll, Stevie? I thought I meant more to ya than that."

"This has nothing to do with him. This is about you doing more than your share to free your ex. He _is _still your _ex_, right?"

"Yes, Steve, he is still my ex."

"Well, good. Then you can just throw that away." he pointed to her purse.

"What are you trying to pull, Steve? Get yourself off the hook? You're not even _on_ the hook. Tell CrayZhorse that."

"I'm not worryin' about me, here, Tig. It's you. You can't go up against him alone like this."

"I'm not going up against him, Stevie, I'm just getting leverage."

"Leverage," he scoffed, letting her pass. "Let it be noted that I tried to stop you."

She gave him a blank look over her shoulder, and he shook his head.

  


***

  


Night had fallen. Travis felt like the seconds were getting longer. He was depressed, a deep sadness that he could not shake. All hope was gone. He was going to prison. There was no way out this time. No alternates. No escape.

He wanted to go home. Prop his feet up on the coffee table and watch some awful talk show. Anything was better than this.

Travis heard footsteps coming down the hall toward his cell. He sat up quickly, then went to the bars. Forbes, the security guard, was doing his usual rounds. It was seven o'clock, Travis realized. Only seven o'clock. Would this day never end?

"Tryin' ta squeeze through, Travis?" Forbes teased.

Travis did not mind. Forbes was a decent guy, and he was just doing his job. "Yeah, I think that if I just concentrate hard enough, I really will turn into Jell-O. And then I will be free."

Forbes shook his head at the young man. "Get some sleep. That's about all you can do around here."

"I can't sleep. It doesn't matter how hard I try, when I close my eyes, I just can't do it." he met the guard's kind gaze. "It's too quiet, is what it is. My place is situated near the railway tracks, and I'm used to snoozing through trains coming and going in the backyard. There's nothing here. Not even water dripping somewhere."

"That's not good, Trav."

"You're telling me."

An uncomfortable silence followed, and Forbes turned to go. Travis had a question, a plaguing question, but he did not know if the security guard would have an answer. As the older man continued down the hall, Travis gathered his nerve. He had to know what the other knew.

"Hey, Forbes?" He turned back, waiting patiently for Travis to continue. "How much do you know?"

"About this whole thing with you?" he shook his head. "Not much, my Boy. Just a few tidbits here and there when yer bosses come and go."

"Tell me. Please, I need to know."

Forbes stood thoughtfully observing Travis. The young man looked desperate. Not for details, but for company. He was stalling so that he would not have to be alone again quite so soon. "What you should really be concerning yourself with is, what else are they trying to figure out? You don't keep a parole violator in police custody for two days without another reason."

Travis digested this for several seconds, trying to decide if he knew what that meant. "Do you know?"

The guard sighed heavily. He should not have said anything, he realized. "Look, you didn't hear this from me, alright?" Travis nodded eagerly. He was used to not having heard things from people. "Apparently, there was a murder the night they picked you up."

"A murder? Who was it?"

"I dunno. Some hacker-kid. Martin, or Marlon, or Maurice...It started with 'Mar', anyway."

Travis leaned his head against the bars sadly. "Marvin?"

"Maybe," Forbes shrugged, "Something like that."

Travis closed his eyes against the despair he suddenly felt. Marvin had been one of his closest friends back in his days with CrayZhorse. He had also been the person he had chosen to follow, instead of staying with Jargon.

"You knew him?" Travis nodded. "Tough break, Kiddo. That ain't gonna look good when they get around to askin' ya about it."

"I didn't do it."

"From what I gather, you can't remember what you did." Forbes replied with a shrug.

"I know I didn't do that." he snapped.

"They always do."

"Don't tell me you're beginning to doubt me now, too."

"Hey, I'm just the guard, Travis. I'm neutral. I don't care if you killed a guy, drank till ya passed out, or are wrongfully accused. I just make sure you stay in your cell."

Travis nodded, "Yeah, I know. It's just so frustrating."

"I imagine it is. I have to finish my inspection, now." Forbes continued down the hall.

Travis stared, unseeing, at the floor. He was trying to figure out if Price and the others really did suspect him of murder. It explained why he was still being held here. His mind made a leap, and he wondered why Teigra had not said anything when she had come to visit him. She knew that Travis and Marvin were like brothers, why had she opted not to share this tragedy with him? 

Unless it had not been Marvin, afterall.

The beam from a flashlight flickered over his face, and he looked up. "Hey, Jell-O Boy, you a hockey fan?" Forbes inquired jovially.

"Uh, yeah."

"Promise to behave?"

"Sure,"

Forbes unlocked the cell door, and let Travis out. He slapped on handcuffs, and led the young man to the outer room, where they could watch the Senators-Capitals game. 

When it was over, two hours later, Travis was returned to his cell. "Thank you, Forbes."

"Yeah, just don't tell anyone."

"Don't worry, I won't. I appreciated it too much to betray you like that."

"Listen, Kid, whatever they say you did, I don't believe it. You're a good guy."

"Yeah, well, I wish that was all it took. Being a good guy."

Forbes nodded, then said, "Get some sleep." and left Travis to stare up at the ceiling, trying to follow his advice, but unable to calm the turmoil the surrounding silence caused in his head.

  


"I don't get it, Steve." Teigra sat back in her seat. She was tired, and bored, and flustered. Six hours of non-stop staring at a computer screen had proven useless. "I might as well have gone to bed." she shook her head.

"You would'na slept, anyway." Steve shrugged. "You're too worried about him."

She looked out the window. The sun was just coming out from behind a cloud. "Do you want to get some breakfast?"

"Yeah, okay." Steve shut down his computer. "Y'know, one of these days, the Horse is goin' ta send someone down here ta investigate us."

"No, he won't. He trusts us too much."

"That man don't trust no one. Not even his cat."

"Who says he has a cat?"

"Rumour. It is _rumoured_ that he has a cat."

"I've never heard that one."

Steve shrugged, waiting for Teigra to turn off her computer. She slowly moved the arrow-shaped cursor up to the top right hand corner, and the 'x' that would close what she was reading. He noticed the picture of Travis, and then he noticed that she was staring at it. "You still love 'im, doncha?"

"Huh?"

"That's what I thought."

"What? Steve!"

"Ferget it, Tig. Let's go eat, I'm starved."

  


***

  


He stared up at the ceiling, as he had done all night. He had no idea what time it was, but he knew that he had lain awake for hours, staring, unable to sleep. For the past two days he had been plagued by insomnia, though he _wanted_ to close his eyes and drift off.

He rolled over onto his side, and pulled the blanket up around his chin. He was shivering, unable to get warm in this rat hole.

"Someone here to see ya, Mr. Travis." Forbes' deep voice rumbled through the silence that was driving him mad.

He looked up, recognized Teigra, and felt a swell of relief that, for a few minutes at least, he would no longer be alone. He did not want her to think as much, though. "Why do you keep coming to see me?"

She stepped inside the cell, and waited for the police officer to lock the door behind her before moving again. She took in his miserable, fatigued expression as she knelt in front of him. She put her hand on his cheek. "Oh my God. You're lips are actually blue."

He swatted her hand away. "Don't, Tig, please."

She sat beside him on the cot. "How have you been?"

"Terrible." he leaned his head against her shoulder.

Tentatively, Teigra put her arm around him. They sat in silence, Teigra wishing there was some way she could speed up getting him out, Travis just enjoying her company.

"They tried to drag you outta me." he told her.

"What did you say?"

"I said no."

She was surprised. "You did?"

"Of all the people who think they know what they're doing, you're the only one I believe can get me outta here."

"Well, I'm trying, Goph. I can't promise anything. There's something else going on, I just can't...figure out what it is."

"A non-specific source suggested that I'm being held on suspicion of murder."

"Wait, you mean no one told you that - "

He met her eyes. "Told me what?"

"Well...Gopher, that's why they are holding you here. Max and Loon framed you for Marvin's murder, with the Horse's help, of course. It's all part of the get rid of Roller scheme." Travis stared in puzzlement at the floor. "I have proof that you didn't do it, Goph. I have Max and Loon's confession on tape."

"How?"

"Oh, the usual. They were drunk, and Loon couldn't keep his mouth shut."

"Where's the tape now?"

"Hiding." He arched his eyebrow at her. "I gave it to Steve. He doesn't know what's on it, just that he's s'posed to keep it safe. No one knows about what's on the tape 'cept me. And now you."

Travis nodded. "You trust Steve?"

"I have to. With Marv gone, he's all I have left."

"If you didn't know it was Max and Loon, would you have believed that it was me?"

"Not a chance, Gopher. You and Marv were best friends. Everyone who knew either of you _had_ to know the other. It was this crazy inseparable thing."

"Until you came along." he smiled.

"Yeah, right," she snorted. "I almost gave up on you."

He caught the flash in her eyes, and laughed, "You are such a liar!" he went for her knees, the second most ticklish part of her body - the first being the soles of her feet.

"Gopher! Don't!" she giggled, trying to get away from him.

"What's going on down here?" Forbes demanded gruffly, then seeing the two on the floor, he smiled. "Oh, I see." Both looked up at the security guard, surprised by his sudden appearance. "Carry on, Mr. Travis. But you've only got five more minutes."

Teigra fell back on the floor laughing at the look on Travis' face.

"I was just tickling her knees, Forbes!" he called after him.

Travis shifted so that he was lying beside her, gazing down at her smiling face. She reached up and caressed his cheek. He caught her hand, and held it against his face. "Why did we break up again?"

"Oh, that's a brilliant plan that I give _you_ all the credit for."

"Yeah, well, it was brilliant when I was going to be in prison for ten years."

"But it doesn't seem so brilliant anymore?"

"No, no it doesn't."

"I should go." she got up off the floor, and went to the bars to call Forbes back.

"What is it?"

"Nothing,"

"Tig, come on, what's going on?"

"Nothing, it's just - now's not a good time, Goph." Forbes unlocked the door to Travis' cell, then waited for Teigra to exit. "I'll come by tomorrow, okay?"

"Promise?"

"Promise." she looped her pinky around his.

  


***

  


Price and Wiley stood outside Travis' cell, waiting for him to acknowledge their presence.

"What? You guys get turned into vampires or something? You can't come in unless I invite you? Fine, Jack, you can come in, but Price, you can stay outside."

"That's very funny, Travis. Glad to see you haven't lost your sense of humour."

"When do I get to go home?"

"You know damn well that you're not going home, Travis."

He decided to play dumb, and weasel a confession out of Price for the real reason they were still keeping him in jail. He was not going back to prison having everyone believe he was completely clueless. "Why not? You can't hold me here on parole violation alone. What's going on?"

"It's a long story, Trav - "

Price gave Wiley a silencing glare. She then turned to Travis. "Did you know Marvin Bates?"

"Very well."

"Really," she looked amused. "When was the last time you saw or heard from him?"

Travis sighed. He decided that it was no use keeping it a secret anymore. "The day you arrested me. I was following him when whatever the hell happened to me happened to me. Where is this going?"

"Did you have any reason not to like Mr. Bates?"

"No, Price, never in my life did I ever have a reason not to like Marv. He was a good guy, and a better friend. We were going to help each other get away from CrayZhorse. And then the Horse framed me."

"CrayZhorse didn't frame you, Travis, I don't believe that for a second, and you could never convince me it was true." Price snapped.

"Whoa, whoa, I think now's a good time to step in here." Wiley interjected. "Don't fly off the handle over this, Annie. He could be telling the truth - about Bates, anyway."

"Not likely."

This remark was the last straw. Travis stood, staring into Price's fierce gaze. "What the hell is it, Price? You have been out to get me from the start. What the hell did I ever do to you?"

She kept her tone even, as she explained, "Of all the hackers and crackers we looked at and profiled for Level Nine, you were the one with the most credentials. You had more illegal entries and stolen passwords to your name than a public library has books on the shelves. And that's why they chose you. They wanted someone with your abilities on _our_ side. It was sheer luck that you had slipped and gotten arrested, otherwise you really would still be in prison. Where I personally always said you should stay. I don't trust you, Travis, I never have, and that's no secret, either."

"So, what, this is revenge for not getting your way?"

"No, this is you getting what you deserve. You're a criminal, Travis. Criminals deserve to be locked up."

"You bitch." he spat.

"Hey, come on, you two. This isn't helping any." Wiley tried to settle the dust.

"Stay out of it, Jack." Price ordered, still glaring at Travis.

"No, Annie, I will not stay out of it. Why don't you just tell him what you're really doing, huh?"

Travis tore his glaring eyes from Price, turning them on Wiley. "What?"

"She's gathering evidence to prove that you _did_ kill this Bates guy, Trav. She won't even look at the other side - the proving you innocent side. She's on the warpath against you, here."

He turned back to her, confused. "Why? Why would you do that?"

"I am not on the warpath, alright? But I do believe you murdered Bates. All I've seen is evidence to prove this."

"It's not true." Travis was shaking his head, furious. "I did _not_ kill Marv! He was my best friend for years! I have _no _reason, not _one_ to hurt him."

"Right, well, you just keep telling yourself that, okay?" she turned to Wiley, "I'll be outside." and with that, she left.

Travis let out an exasperated sigh, as he sat on the cot along the back wall. "What the hell did I ever do to her?"

"I couldn't tell ya, Junior." Wiley folded his arms across his chest, watching the other. 

Travis simply shook his head. "You have to find her stash of PMS pills, and make sure she takes them."

Wiley laughed, "I'll get right on that. You're not the only one who'd be thrilled to see her normal for once."

"Normal? Price can be _normal_?"

"That's what Tibbs keeps trying to tell me." he shrugged. "Anyways, I kinda have some news from Sosh and Jargon. But it's not good. At all."

"Well, let's hear it anyway."

"They checked all surveillance cameras in the area, and found nothing. They were all hacked into and turned off, or the feed was diverted somewhere else, there's no way to tell which. Whoever abducted you knew how to cover his ass."

"That's the Uprising for you. We all know how to cover our asses."

"Unfortunately,"

"Yeah," Travis sighed, "Unfortunately. Anything else?"

"No, unfortunately,"

"A lot of unfortunately's in this conversation."

Wiley nodded, his grin betraying the fact that he had almost said it again. "I'll see ya later, Junior,"

Travis nodded, and the other left.

  



	3. Chapter 3

"We have a problem." Teigra blurted out as soon as Forbes had gone.

Travis got up worriedly to meet her. "What kind of problem?"

She went to put her hand on his cheek, then changed her mind. Instead, she turned away from him. "I - " she put her arms around herself comfortingly.

"You what? Come on, Tig, don't leave me hangin' here."

"Steve lost the tape, Gopher."

"Lost it, or _stole_ it?" he snapped, though it was rhetorical.

"Oh, it'd better be lost, or I'll kill him myself." she grumbled.

"Right," Travis sighed, then sat on the cot. "So what do we do now?"

She turned to face him. "I don't know," she shook her head slowly. "I really don't know."

Travis closed his eyes, leaning back against the wall. "Great, just great."

Teigra knelt in front of him, and put her hand on his knee. He opened his eyes and met her gaze. "But I am still going to get you outta here."

"How, Tig? You said their confession was on that damn tape."

"Well, for one thing Steve's looking for it as we speak, and then I'm going to ransack his place myself, and if we still can't find it, we'll just have to get them to confess again."

"Oh, yeah, that'll happen." Travis rolled his eyes.

She slapped his knee angrily. "Don't you dare give up on me. Not now, Gopher. Not _now_."

Travis got up in frustration, and went to the bars of his cell. "Tomorrow, Tigger," he turned back to her. "They're shipping me out tomorrow."

She averted her eyes, her voice barely audible, "I know," She saw the distress in his tired expression, just before he looked away. He crossed his arms across his chest, staring without seeing into the floor. Teigra got up and put her arms around him, knowing that he was afraid of going back to prison. "It's not going to happen, Roland. If you go _anywhere_ tomorrow, it'll be home. Even if I have to plan a break-out."

He reciprocated the embrace, holding her tightly. "Promise?"

"I promise,"

"Time's up," Forbes stated. "You have to go now, Teigra."

She withdrew reluctantly, and offered Travis her pinky finger in the age-old custom of a promise. He half-smiled, linking his pinky with hers, remembering their first date. She had made him pinky-swear to call her the next evening.

"I'll come back later, okay?" He nodded, still gazing at their entwined digits. "Okay," she kissed him on the cheek, then departed.

Travis watched her go sadly.

  


Once outside, Teigra headed around the back of the precinct, where she had parked her car. A note was tucked under the windshield wiper, which she carefully removed and read: "Too bad, so sad."

Teigra furrowed her eyebrows, looking around her to see if the person who had left the message was still around, but there was no one. Troubled, she walked around her car, looking for signs of tampering. Satisfied that she would not be blown up upon ignition, she got in the car, and drove to Steve's house.

Letting herself in, and expecting to find him searching for the lost tape, Teigra was surprised to find the apartment empty. She sought a message saying where Steve had gone, but found no indication that he had even been home recently.

"That's odd," she said to herself, going into Steve's bedroom, where he kept his computer. And where she would hopefully find the tape.

After two hours of sifting through drawers and stacks of junk, Teigra decided to give up, and find Steve instead. She decided the best place to look was Uprising HQ, so that is where she went next.

He was not there either.

Teigra asked around, but no one had seen him since earlier that morning. On her way out, she spotted Max and Loon talking alone. She ducked behind a stack of computer monitors, and listened to what they had to say. Hopefully it had nothing to do with something they had done to Steve. 

"You heard what he said," Max sounded frustrated with the other.

"But I don't - "

"Come on, killing Roller'll be easy. Look where he is! And no one cares if anything happens to him, not really."

"Teigra - "

"Won't be able to help him. Too bad, so sad." Max snickered. "I've already had it arranged. We don't even have to see him. There'll be poison in his next meal."

"Don't you think that's a little suspicious?"

"Nah, how? CrayZhorse is trying to send a message to Teigra and anyone working with her."

"I'm sure she'll get it." Loon chuckled.

"That she will. It really is too bad, though. I always had a thing for her."

Teigra backed away from the two schemers before they noticed her there. Worried, she returned to the police station as fast as she could to see Travis. And to warn him.

His eyes lit up when he saw her. "Did you find it?" She shook her head, unable to look him straight in the eye. "Oh,"

"But on the way over, I had this idea." she paused uncertainly. "But you have to get your buddies to let you out for a night. And make your release believable, like they dropped charges because they found a discrepancy in your med files or something."

"How does that help me?"

"You can meet Max and Loon at the Club, and drag another confession out of them."

"You think that'll work?"

"Well, get Loon drunk - "

"And he'll admit to anything." he nodded.

"Exactly,"

Travis noticed that she was fidgeting with her watch. "What is it?"

"Huh?"

He nodded at her hands. "You're playing with your watch. What's wrong?"

"I - Max and Loon were - " she swallowed, uncertain how she should tell him.

"What? They were what?" he straightened to better read her expression.

She looked up into his expectant eyes. "They were talking about how the Horse wants you dead."

"Oh,"

"Yeah,"

Travis thought it over. "I guess I shouldn't be surprised." She was going to say something, but he kept talking, "They'll have a back-up plan. Especially if they want to kill me." he leaned back against the wall, thinking hard. He still could not think of a better way to go about doing this. "How would I get them to meet me?"

"If they hear you're out, which I can do myself, they'll get in touch with you."

"They don't know where I live. None of you do."

"They know where you hang out. I can tell them where you'll be. They'll show up."

Travis nodded, then arched his eyebrow at her. "And where will you be while this is all going down?"

"Nearby. As back-up."

He shook his head. "You've done enough. If I can convince Price to give me one crack at this, you're off the hook as soon as I step outside. We can't see each other after this, you know that. Level Nine's after you, now."

Teigra smiled at him, seeing that old concern in his eyes. "I miss you, Gopher."

Travis rested his head in her lap, a faint smile on his face. He closed his eyes, while she played with his hair. 

Within minutes, he was asleep.

She smiled, hearing his familiar soft breathing, and closed her own eyes. _I've missed you so much._

  


_***_

  


"Who the hell are you?" Price's harsh voice thundered, awakening both Teigra and Travis. 

He sat bolt upright at the sound. "Oh no." he mumbled to himself.

Wiley grabbed Price's arm, to prevent her from physically harming either of them. "Chill."

She glared at him, the way a rebellious teenager glares at her parents after being given a curfew. "Is this her, Travis? The girl on the surveillance tape?"

Travis looked completely lost. He knew he could not deny it. Not now, with her sitting right beside him.

"Maybe you should leave." Wiley suggested to Teigra.

"No. No, she stays. I want an explanation." Price folded her arms across her chest expectantly.

Travis gazed at Teigra apologetically. She met Price's glare. "I can prove that what happened to him wasn't his fault."

Both Wiley and Price raised their eyebrows in surprise at this.

  


***

  


"I think we can work this." Wiley nodded, upon Teigra's completion of the retelling of her plan.

Price was rolling the idea around in her mind, trying to find a loop hole. There did not appear to be one. "What if this Max won't meet with Travis?"

Travis sighed heavily, "Oh, he will."

"Are you sure?"

He and Teigra exchanged looks. "Positive," she replied.

"Only fools are positive." Travis pointed out.

"Are you sure?"

"I used to be," he sighed.

She hugged him comfortingly. Her watch beeped, she had forgotten that she had to work tonight. "I have to go." she got up suddenly.

Travis' gaze locked temporarily with Price's, as he rose from the cot. He looked to Teigra, asking, "Take me with you?"

She scanned the cell, pretending that they were alone, but may be being watched. She bit her bottom lip, moving closer to him. "Okay," she held her pocket open. "Get in, quick!"

A smile slowly crept across his face, feelings he thought were long buried returning to the surface.

She recognized the look in his eyes. "'Nobody knows it, but you've got a secret smile, and you use it only for me.'" she sang the line from Semisonic.

Wiley cleared his throat, reminding the pair that they were not alone.

"I'll see you later, okay?" Teigra told Travis quietly, putting on her coat. "At the Club in one hour, where we will solve this mystery, and you can then go home."

"Amen," he agreed, and she left. He watched her for as long as he could see her down the hall.

"Well, she seems like a nice girl, Trav." Wiley said amicably.

Travis turned a lopsided grin on him. "Yeah, well, just remember, she's _my_ nice girl." he flopped back down on the cot. 

"Alright, here's the whole deal, Travis. You have one chance - _one._ You screw this up, I don't care, you go to prison tonight, get it?" Price glared daggers at him.

"And if I succeed, what'll you give me?"

"A pat on the back. Wiley, bring him out, while I assemble the team."

Wiley saluted Price, and she rolled her eyes as she exited. "Well, here goes nothing, Junior."

"No, it's here goes _everything_, Jack."

  


***

  


"Just ignore the hormones, Trav." Wiley told him sternly. "The hormones are bad."

"Yeah, Wiley, I got that." he snapped. "She doesn't want - anyway, don't worry about it, alright?"

"The last thing we need is for you to get all lovey-dovey in there." Hooten agreed, taping the microphone to Travis' bare chest.

"Anything else? God. This is my one track to freedom, I'm not going to screw it up."

"Sometimes, when the hormones kick in - " Travis shot Wiley a silencing glare. "Well, you know all that."

"Look, I appreciate your concern, but Tig's got something going on - "

Wiley interrupted, "That's for sure. You can sure pick 'em."

Travis glowered at him, but continued, "That she doesn't want me to get tangled up in. So we will not be getting back together for quite some time."

"Much to your dismay," Hooten half-smiled.

"I never said that,"

"You don't have to. Come on, we're all guys here - "

"Not _all_," Sosh cut in. "You be careful in there."

"Thanks, I will."

"I'm sorry we couldn't do more."

"Don't worry about it. At least you tried, unlike some people." Travis cast a look in Price's direction, but she did not notice. "Well, here I go,"

"Good luck, Junior,"

  


Travis entered the Club, and Max waved him over to his and Loon's table. He joined them, shaking hands, pretending not to suspect them of anything.

And they seemed to believe it.

Max and Loon carried on with their converstaion, as Travis watched Teigra at the bar with the other tender. They seemed at ease with each other, and he felt a twinge of jealousy.

"His name's Steve." Max cut into Travis' thoughts.

Travis tore his eyes away from her. "What?"

Max nodded towards the bar. "The guy. His name's Steve."

Travis feigned indifference. "So?"

"_So_ they don't have a relationship or nothin'. They just have the same shift," Loon replied. "And they're friends."

"I see," Travis' gaze returned to the bar.

"So, Roller, what's the deal with your gf?" Max inquired.

"Tig's not my gf anymore, Max. You know that." Travis sighed.

"You miss her, admit it." Loon said.

"Like a heart attack." he retorted, but he was lying.

"Oh, come on. I bet you wake up in the morning expecting her to be there beside you." Travis did not reply. "Why don't you go talk to her."

Travis looked back at Max. "She won't want to talk to me."

"Sure she will." Loon jumped in. "You know that pic of you two that she always had at her station beside the comp? It's still there, man. I think she misses you, too."

"Really?" he was watching her again.

"Get your ass up there and talk to her, Roller."

"Yeah, and get us some drinks." Loon added. "You know what we like."

Travis shook his head at his former colleagues, as he got up from the table. He tried to look confident as he strode up to the bar. Teigra saw him approaching and smiled. "I'm turning off the visuals for a few." he told the team listening on the other end of the wire.

"Go get 'er, Trav." Wiley replied encouragingly.

Price smacked him in the arm. "Tread lightly." she cautioned.

"What can I get you tonight?" Teigra asked Travis flatly, as he sat on the stool on the other side of the counter.

"How much spare time do you have?" he was being mischievous.

"Very funny." she shook her head at him. She leaned closer and whispered in his ear, "If they're playing dumb, so should we."

"Oh, they're playing _very_ dumb. How long have they been here?" He noticed the lizard-charm necklace that he had bought her on their one year anniversary, and smiled.

She went back to cleaning glasses. "Maybe fifteen minutes,"

"So they're not very drunk yet,"

"Not, they're not very drunk yet." He smiled, then placed his order for drinks. "I thought no alcohol was an integral part of your parole?" Travis shrugged. "You're wired, aren't you?"

Travis feigned looking hurt. "What makes you say that?"

"Oh, come on, Gopher." she rolled her eyes at him. "I can tell these things."

"How?"

"I can't tell you that."

"Why not?"

"Because you're wired." she placed the first of two drinks down on the counter. "That wasn't in the plan. I hope they don't notice."

"It wasn't my idea, but _someone_ doesn't trust you to look after all that."

"I can understand that. It's fine. As long as they don't notice."

"They won't,"

Steve returned with a case of beer from the basement. He set it on the counter and placed the bottles along the shelf behind them. "There's a bomb downstairs with ten minutes less the time it took me to get back here on it." he told Teigra, his voice low, trying to look inconspicuous to anyone who may be watching them closely.

"Oh no,"

"Did ya hear that, guys?" Travis spoke to the Level Nine team listening in. "Get someone in here, _now._"

"We have to get these people out of here." Steve hissed.

"We can't. If I know Max - "

"He's got a remote detonator in his pocket." Travis finished her sentence.

"So, what do we do?" Steve demanded.

"Tibbs and Hooten are on their way in." Price announced in Travis' ear.

"Help's on the way." he took the other drink from Teigra, and headed back over to Max and Loon.

"Are we really going to leave this up to _him?_" Steve growled, picking up the empty box to throw in the back room.

"No. There aren't that many people in here. Steve, take these," she handed him three bottles of Bud, "Over to that table in the corner, and tell them to get out."

"Alright,"

Teigra took a couple of bottles down for the other table. "And then you get out, too."

"What about you?"

"Don't worry about me."

"Tig - "

"We don't have time to argue, Steve."

He sighed, knowing that he had been defeated, and headed to the table of patrons.

"Visual's back." Jargon announced for Price and Wiley.

"Great." then she asked, "What about Tibbs?"

"We're in," Tibbs responded.

"And there's the bomb." Hooten pointed to it.

They approached the device carefully, expecting to find boobytraps.

Tibbs cocked his head to the side. "The timer's stopped on two-oh-eight, Annie."

"Disarm it, Boys."

  


"So, Roller, how'd it go?" Max inquired.

"It's not there anymore." Travis sighed.

"What's not there anymore?" Loon asked.

"That spark." Travis shrugged. "She just wants to distance herself from me. She won't say it, but that's what she's thinking."

Max raised his eyebrows in surprise. "As if, man. Do I not have eyes? She was trying not to jump you."

The three of them laughed at that remark, as the three teenagers from the table in the corner walked past, laughing themselves. "Hey, a free beer's a free beer, man. I wanted to leave, anyway." one of them shrugged to his companions.

Max and Loon exchanged looks.

"'S there something you guys wanna tell me?" Travis asked innocently.

"Yeah, yeah." Loon was completely serious. "I wanna ask Teigra out, man, and I just don't know how to do it. I was hoping you'd help a brother out. What does she like? Where should I take her?"

Travis shrugged. "She's not picky about that sort of thing." he thought about his answer for a minute, before conceding, "She's not really the fancy restaurant type. She's more a fast food kinda girl."

"No wonder you two got along so well." Max chuckled.

"So she's a cheap date. Good." Loon nodded.

"I wouldn't say that." Travis grinned.

  


"Annie, there's no way to disarm this baby without setting it off." Tibbs stated in frustration.

"Alright. has the time on it changed?"

"No," Hooten replied, after checking the glowing red numbers on the side of the bomb.

"Get out of there, then. I'll tell Travis to do the same."

"See ya in a jiffy." Hooten said.

Price spoke into the other headset, "Travis, listen to me very carefully. The timer on the bomb is sitting on two minutes, eight seconds. Tibbs and Hooten couldn't disarm it. Either figure out who has the remote, or get everyone out. The latter being the recommended solution."

"Do you want a refill there, Loon?" Travis asked him, noticing that his glass was empty.

"You just wanna talk to her again." Max grinned.

"I'll put in a good word for you, Loon." he picked up the glass, and walked over to the bar. "Well, they have succeeded in _not_ saying anything important _and_ hitting on you." he told Teigra.

She smiled, shaking her head. "What did you say to the last part?"

"That I didn't care. Look, Tig, you should get out of here." he dropped his voice to a whisper, setting the empty glass on the counter.

"Ten minutes must be up by now. Maybe it's a dud."

"The timer's staying at two-oh-eight. My people can't diffuse it without setting it off. All Max or Loon have to do is get a little suspicious and we're toast."

"I'm not leaving you alone with them. _That's_ suspicious, Honey."

"It's set up to implode the building, much like in construction." Travis heard Tibbs explaining to Price. "None of the surrounding establishments will be affected if it goes off."

"Travis, Max and Loon getting out is _not_ a mission objective." Price stated.

"So, grab the babe and run." Wiley added.

Teigra placed the beverage on the counter for Travis, but did not take her hand off the glass, watching him closely, reading him.

"I can't just run. This is supposed to be my way to stay out of jail, and so far I've got nothing out of them." He put his hand around hers, not realizing that she was still holding onto the glass. His eyes met hers. "Promise me you'll go out the back as soon as I get back to the table."

"Promise me you'll be right behind me."

  


"What do you think they're talkin' about?" Loon asked Max.

"Getting back together." he scoffed.

"Are you sure?"

Max shook his head. "No,"

Loon took in the room. "Dude, we're alone in here. They know something's up."

"Are you saying I should blow it?"

"The Horse wants Roller out of business for good."

"That he does." Max nodded, restarting the counter on the bomb with his remote.

Travis returned to the table, and set Loon's drink in front of him.

"Why so glum, Chum?" Loon grinned. "You look like she ripped your heart out with a spoon."

"Again," Max added.

He tried to shrug it off. "So, what's the deal, you two? There's something you're not telling me."

"You're right," Max checked his watch, "There is."

Travis' eyes went wide, as he realized what Max had done. He got up quickly, the chair falling backwards, and turned to see that Teigra had left, as he had told her to. But she was still behind the counter, scrubbing it with a rag. "Teigra, get out!" he yelled at her.

She looked up at him, and Max laughed. Loon stood up, and made a run for the door.

The bomb went off, the force of the explosion rippling upwards through the walls. The small night club caved in on itself. Travis scrambled to get to Teigra, but a large piece of debris fell on him from the ceiling, trapping him. He screamed his agony as the bone in his left leg snapped. He looked up, but could not see Teigra; the overhang had collapsed. If she had been standing there, she would have been crushed.

"Whaddaya think, Roller?" Max came into his line of sight. "Are you going to croak, or do I have to help you along?" he was pointing a gun at Travis' head.

"You son of a bitch!" he yelled.

"Mm, technically I'm just the messenger. CrayZhorse is the one who wants you dead. I mean, we were pals, Roller, we used to hang out."

"You could have let her get out." Travis managed through clenched teeth.

"What? After all she did for you, are you kidding? She knew she was toast, why else do you think she stuck around?" Max cocked the gun. "Well, goodbye, Roller."

Just before Max could pull the trigger, debris fell on top of him, squishing him, and splattering Travis with blood.

"Oh, God!" he barked in surprise, looking away. Some of the ceiling struck him in the head, rendering him unconscious.

  


Travis opened his eyes to find himself in a hospital. He tried to move, but his hand was cuffed to the bed he was lying in. "Oh, great," he muttered, letting his head drop back onto the pillow. This action made him realize that he had a headache. A very serious and blinding one. He had an irritating itch on his right leg, but remembered that it had been crushed. He now saw that it was in a cast from his ankle to his hip.

Just when Travis thought his situation could not get any bleaker, Price entered the room.

"Perfect."

"You don't look happy to see me." she observed, that air of superiority in her voice. She had Travis right where she wanted him, a fly caught between two windows.

"Should I be?" he scoffed, seeing Wiley closing the door behind him, as he sat up carefully, his head swimming, and right leg screaming at him to stop moving.

She held up a small voice recorder. "Yes, as a matter of fact, you should be." She pressed the play button.

Teigra's laughter reached Travis' ears, and he felt a twinge of sadness. He wanted to ask about her, but was afraid of the answer. So he listened to the tape intently, instead.

"Well, you see, Tig, we sorta just framed him." Max replied nonchalantly.

"For what?"

"Murder," and Loon burst into hysterics.

"I'm tellin' ya, Tig," Max was saying, "He didn't even see it comin'. I just whammed him in the back of the head, and he was out like a...candle."

"After you blow it out, that is." Loon clarified.

"Shut up, Loon."

"Ow!"

"So, anyway, then we drag 'im back to HQ, hooked him up to this _thingy and _left him with the Horse."

"Why?" Teigra asked. "What did he want with Travis?"

"A date." Loon cackled.

Max joined in the laughter. When he got control again, he replied, "Are you kidding? He's the one with all the Level Nine know-how. And the Horse wants to get that thorn out of his side, Tig. Permanently."

Loon laughed harder. "He was a pretty doped up thorn when we left him in the street."

Max laughed at this, too. "That he was."

Price pressed stop. "What do you think, Travis?"

"I think they were very drunk when she taped that." he conceded. "Actually, I _know_ they were drunk when she taped that. She told me as much."

"That's not important. This is your way out."

"How did you get that?"

"It was found in the dumpster behind the Club. Any idea who might have ditched it there?" Travis half-shrugged, shaking his head. 

"Well, we'll figure it out." Wiley offered Travis the key to the handcuffs. He took it from him uncertainly, then looked up at Price before using it. She nodded, and he unlocked the bindings. 

As Price took them back from his outstretched hand, he asked, "What happened to Teigra? Is she here, too?"

Wiley watched Price, uncomfortable. She finally looked away from the young man. "We, um, didn't find her, Travis."

"What? What do you mean you didn't find her? She was behind the bar when the bomb went off."

Price looked to Wiley, and he shook his head. Travis stared down at nothing, the truth sinking in: She was gone.

"You want us to leave you alone for awhile?" Wiley offered.

"I...I..." he looked up at them. "Are you sure?" he closed his eyes. "I mean, you're sure she...uh..."

Wiley looked to Price again, but she was watching Travis. He reached into his pocket, and revealed a necklace with a lizard charm on it. "We found this near where the bar used to be."

Travis took it from him, hands shaking.

"We'll talk more later." Price replied, and she and Wiley left Travis alone.

He laid back down, not taking his eyes from the lizard, tears running down his cheeks.

  


Travis figured he must have fallen asleep while staring at the ceiling, replaying memories. When he opened his eyes again, there was a single red rose in a vase on the table beside his bed. His heart skipped a beat when he saw it, quickly reaching for the card.

Written on it were four letters: _TTFN._

She was alive.

Somewhere. She was alive.

  


  


**Fin**

  


**Started January 2001**

**Finished September 5, 2001**

  



End file.
